Retreat, regenerate, rewind, refocus, reconnect…

Inspiration Shot January 2018

Retreat, regenerate, rewind, refocus, reconnect… Inspiration Shot
“In order to understand the world, one has to turn away from it on occasion.”
Maybe that’s why I like traveling so much? ‘To retreat’ means officially:  “the act of withdrawing” or “a quiet or secluded place in which one can rest and relax”.
I apply this both in my personal and business life, and it’s proved very useful.
  • Do you ever work ON your business instead of IN it?
  • What do you do to get away from the details and look at the context and bigger picture, the helicopter view?

Business or Pleasure?

A business retreat in a beautiful location is often considered a vacation, whereas that change of environment is exactly what can provide the most unexpected new insights and inspiration. The best ideas are not hatched in a traditional business environment. That’s why all my retreats are business retreats (and therefore tax deductible…)
Often inspiration is just a matter of having an open mind, and somehow that works better when we are away from our normal environment. All our senses open to the unknown and we see and learn new things.
For example, even during the ‘touristy’ stops we had on my ‘Cruise your business’ trip from Barcelona to Buenos Aires, I found many life and business topics to write about. How could I have come up with the following blogs if I had stayed ‘at home’? On the other hand, other people on the same excursion had a completely different, ‘touristy’, experience. So again, it’s all in your mindset.
Retreat, regenerate, rewind, refocus, reconnect… Inspiration Shot

Take a look at the blogs:

Treat yourself and your business to a retreat

Retreat, regenerate, rewind, refocus, reconnect… Inspiration Shot

Why don’t you give yourself and/or your business the gift of a retreat? You can go on a painting trip, do yoga, challenge yourself with a silent meditation like I did a few years ago, or join me on one of the retreats I will attend or organize this year:

Why not write your book? I can help you to write it in a week in one of my favorite locations: Curaçao (March 6-12), Greece (April 22 – May 2nd), Mallorca (May 24-31) or Thailand (Oct 7-13). You can also use the focus and energy generated in a writing retreat to work on another project, such as a business plan, website or manual.

On the 28th of June, I will celebrate my birthday on a private island in Croatia with an exclusive group of successful international entrepreneurs. Baby Bathwater (June 26-30) may be the most decadent (and expensive!) event I have ever been to (I fell in love with the concept of un-conferencing festivals in beautiful locations and have tried out quite a few). I sincerely believe that you are a reflection of the people you surround yourself with, so why not surround yourself with the best? Interested in joining? Send me an email; Baby Bathwater is by introduction only.

Feel like ‘Cruising your business?’ or crossing the Atlantic? Please help me decide the ‘next cruise your business’ destination by indicating your preferences in the short poll.

Organize your own retreat /workshop

Why not organize the retreat that you would like to go to?

Organizing your own retreat is a great way to:

  • Connect better to your followers/clients
  • Establish yourself as an expert on your topic
  • Combine your passion, business and pleasure

It is easier than you think to organize. I always work with topics I get a lot of questions about and in locations that I know very well. I never invest or commit to anything before ‘testing’ interest in the event on Facebook. I only start organizing when I have enough participants.

For your first retreat, why don’t you decide to go anyway, even if you have just two or three participants? You’ll have a great time, get more experience and get great feedback because you’ll be able to spend lots of quality time with your participants.

  • I collected my best ‘tips & tricks about organising an event in a blog.
  • On January 24th I organise a workshop ‘Organizing your own event’ in Amsterdam (in Dutch). You can also participate remotely.
  • The promo video above is in Dutch, but is an example of how you can promote your event in a friendly and natural way (instead of just saying ‘come to my event!’): In the video, I give away lots of tips and a free ticket to the workshop.
Retreat, regenerate, rewind, refocus, reconnect… Inspiration Shot

Where is Esther?

My month in Buenos Aires is turning out to be completely different from what I had in mind. I was planning to go tango dancing every day, attend workshops and take private lessons. Even though I enjoyed seeing my friends and teachers Adrian and Mora again, my knee injury prevents me from doing any activity for more than just a few minutes. Because I still want to benefit from being here, I have decided to … take watercolor ainting lessons instead. Something completely different, haha, but it turns out there are as many ‘life lessons from watercoloras I learned from tango. And tango will stay in my life anyway: Adrian and Mora will be visiting Holland again in September to give more workshops about the art of ‘tango as a mirror’ as well as private lessons.
The damaged cartilage in my knee has led me to many new experiences: for example, I got to know the medical system Buenos Aires: I got a cheap MRI in a private clinic and had some kinesiology sessions at €10 per session; they offered great service and there were no waiting lists!
I love the city, but – like the theme of this inspiration shot- sometimes you have to ‘get away’ for a bit. I went on an amazing mini-retreat in the Paraná delta. I collected all my Buenos Aires tips in my travel blog.

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